


Dead Freight

by beautifuloblivion



Category: Breaking Bad
Genre: Gen, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-09
Updated: 2015-01-09
Packaged: 2018-03-06 21:35:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3149270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautifuloblivion/pseuds/beautifuloblivion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Nobody, other than us, can ever know that this robbery went down."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dead Freight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [What_we_are](https://archiveofourown.org/users/What_we_are/gifts).



> this is my gift for What_we_are, and the prompt was, "What if Todd didn't shoot Drew Sharp? (Maybe he didn't bring a gun, or Jesse stopped him in time.) How would Mike, Walt, and Jesse deal with the young witness?" hope you enjoy!!
> 
> also i forgot to add this but huge shout out to rachael aka lospollospinkmanos on tumblr for her amazing text post that helped me with the first three paragraphs and to alex aka hansotsi on tumblr for being so supportive while i was trying to write this! you guys are great (:

Jesse's first impulse after his "holy shit we actually pulled it off" realization following the train robbery was to run for Mr White. This was one of the rare, beautiful moments between the two of them that wasn't weighed down with mind games or wondering whether he was doing the right thing. These moments usually lasted for split-seconds or even less, and he'd learned to cherish them. Jesse had done everything Mr White had asked, and they'd _done_  it; even with this asshat Todd in the mix, most of the responsibility fell to Jesse to pull this off without being caught or killed.   
  
He knew he'd done good when he saw Mr White's smile; knew he'd done great when they started shoving each other around, laughing like delighted little kids. Even Todd was allowed to join in the celebrations, because they'd _fucking done it_. Jesse had almost been run over by a damn train but it was all worth it for the millions of dollars sloshing in the tank below their feet.   
  
But this tiny moment of organic happiness wouldn't last long, of course it wouldn't, because as soon as Mr White killed the pump's engine all three of them stopped dead and stared straight ahead.   
  
The kid fucking _waved_ at them, just sat there and waved; out of the corner of his eye Jesse spotted Todd waving back. Then the man was reaching behind him.   
  
The blood roared in Jesse's ears as he saw the gun coming up, the barrel pointing towards that innocent little boy on the bike. He heard himself scream, "No!" and felt his muscles move of their own accord as he grabbed Todd's arm in a desperate attempt to point that gun anywhere other than at the boy. The bullet left the chamber and instead of hitting flesh it buried itself in the rubber of the bike's tire, releasing a horrible hissing sound. Jesse would never forget the look of sheer horror on the boy's face as the realization that he had almost been _shot_  sunk in.  
  
"What'd you do that for?" Todd demanded, pulling his arm away from Jesse's grip. He sounded annoyed, as though killing this kid was his God-given right.  
  
His arm freed, Todd raised the gun to point it at the boy again; absolutely no thought as to how _fucking wrong_  this was crossed his mind. Jesse couldn't believe what he was seeing.   
  
"No!" he cried again, but instead scrambled forward to plant himself between Todd's gun and the boy. Staring Todd in the eyes was like looking into the mind of a psychopath—cold, dead, and completely empty.   
  
"You're gonna have to kill me first," was the sentence Jesse managed past his shaking lips. Todd paid him no heed; it seemed like he was looking _past_  Jesse, trying to shoot the boy around this obstacle in his path.  
  
"Todd."  
  
Jesse let out the breath he'd been holding as Mr White _finally_ spoke, stepping up to stand next to Todd. His voice was calm and determined.   
  
"Todd," Mr White repeated when the blonde man showed no signs of responding. "What if you miss? Hm? What then, son? What if you hit Jesse?" He was using his concerned dad voice again. Normally Jesse hated when Mr White did that, but today it was a godsend; Todd always responded well to it.   
  
Jesse almost cried in relief when Todd lowered his gun, although the man seemed reluctant to do so. "Right. Sorry, sir," Todd said humbly, turning to Mr White. "But Jesse said himself that nobody should know what we did today. I was just taking care of things."  
  
 _Taking care—?_  Mr White held up his hand before Jesse could explode and punch Todd so hard he wouldn't be able to breathe. Jesse settled for glaring daggers at the both of them.   
  
Just as Mr White was about to speak, the radio in his ear squawked loud enough for Jesse to hear Mike's voice. "Walter? Is there a problem? How did it go?"  
  
"What are we supposed to do about _him_ , Mr White?" Todd asked, waving his gun far too close in the direction of the boy for Jesse's liking.   
  
"What do you mean, 'What are we supposed to do about him?'" Jesse demanded, his fury finally spilling over. Through his own yelling he could just barely hear Mr White speaking into his microphone: "Not a ' _problem_ ' exactly..." Jesse drowned it out.   
  
"He doesn't know what he just saw!" Jesse spat at Todd. "We are _not_  going to fucking shoot him in cold blood! Christ, what the hell is wrong with you? You think that—?"  
  
Furious as Jesse was, it wasn't until he was halfway through his sentence that he noticed a hand gripping his arm and Mr White speaking into his ear.   
  
"Jesse. We have a _problem_."  
  
Confused, Jesse tore his eyes away from Todd and up to Mr White. The man, looking slightly panicked, nodded towards the boy. Or rather, as Jesse turned to look—where the boy _used_  to be.   
  
The bike was abandoned in the dirt, its owner scrambling through the desert a hundred feet away. The kid was obviously trying to put as much distance between them, and this realization pulled a tiny smile into Jesse's face.   
  
"Go, you little bastard, go," he muttered, wishing the boy luck in his mind.   
  
"Todd, bring him back," Mr White ordered, jumping into command. "And _leave the gun here_."  
  
Todd nodded and turned over his weapon to Mr White before taking off at a sprint after the boy. Jesse couldn't believe what he'd just seen.   
  
"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed. "Just let the kid go!"  
  
"He's _seen_  our faces, Jesse, or did you forget that part?" Mr White growled in response. "Admittedly, it was less than ideal that Todd shot at him, but—"  
  
"'Less than ideal'." Jesse snorted. "So that's it then? You're just gonna shoot him way the hell out here? Don't I get a say in this?"  
  
Mr White didn't answer, only waved his free hand vaguely around and went off to pace. Jesse followed the man with his eyes, trying to block out the screams he could hear over the hilltop.   
  
It wasn't long before Todd returned, holding the boy's arms behind his back as he dragged him toward Jesse and Mr White. The latter stopped his pacing and stared while the former closed his eyes and tried his very hardest not to hear the boy's "Let me go!"s that pounded in his ears like explosions.   
  
"Mike is coming," Mr White suddenly muttered in his ear; a hand appeared on his shoulder and started to rub. "He'll help us figure this out."  
  
Jesse breathed in deeply then reopened his eyes, not bothering to hide the tears that welled. Maybe they would make Todd feel guilty. But no, the whack job continued to grasp the boy's arms with the same expression on his face he always had. Kind of dead-eyed, but absolutely no remorse or empathy whatsoever. It made Jesse shiver.   
  
The boy's eyes clapped on Jesse. His helmet had fallen off somewhere, and Jesse saw that he had scruffy brown hair, and.... he looked kind of like Jake. His own baby brother.   
  
Jesse shook his head and turned away abruptly, yanking the gloves off his hands and throwing them to the ground so he could rub his eyes. From there he ran them over the top of his head, staring at the blue of the sky and wondering how this all went so wrong.   
  
"He's okay," Walt was saying to Todd, softly, probably so Jesse wouldn't hear. "He just has a lot of emotions, really, and it's—"  
  
Jesse whirled around, ready to chew Mr White out, but the boy spoke first. His voice was high, panicked, and as he squirmed in Todd's hands he looked like a cornered animal.   
  
"Please! Just let me go! I won't tell!"  
  
His words echoed across the empty landscape. Before the sound had even faded away Jesse was leaping at Todd, a cry ripping from his throat as he hauled the other man's arms away from his prisoner. Jesse didn't care whether it was going to work or not; all he needed was for Todd's hands to loosen just a little bit.   
  
Because he'd caught him off guard, Jesse, although smaller, managed to tackle Todd to the ground. In the chaos he didn't see where the boy went but as he held down Todd his head swivelled, trying to find him.   
  
The boy was pretty much standing right next to him, his face the picture of shock. Jesse stared up at him, the sun blocked out by his shadow.   
  
"Run!" Jesse gasped before Todd bucked upwards and pushed him away. Jesse tumbled to the ground, landing flat on his back. Before Todd could do anything more the one thing Jesse never wanted to hear again rang out across the desert.   
  
What he saw as he sat up took all the fight out of him and instantly every bit of adrenaline he'd built up evaporated, leaving him shaky and deflated.   
  
The innocent boy lay face-up in the dust, arms sprawled and eyes still wide open. Blood slowly leaked onto the sand, as red as Gale's had been. Jesse could taste the copper in his mouth.   
  
As if in slow motion, Jesse's eyes travelled to Mr White, who was holding Todd's gun straight out, the muzzle forming a direct path to where the boy had been standing. Mr White's eyes were as wide as could be, his mouth slightly agape. He looked sorry for what he had just done.   
  
Later, loading that small body into their truck, Jesse knew that nothing would ever be the same between them. No matter how _sorry_  Mr White was.


End file.
